


The Little Biologist

by Basilintime



Category: Le Petit Prince | The Little Prince - Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Pacific Rim
Genre: Crossover, Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-30
Updated: 2014-06-30
Packaged: 2018-02-06 21:47:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1873680
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basilintime/pseuds/Basilintime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was sort of a half formed thought. I love the book "The Little Prince" and had a cute thought about Hermann and Newton being the main characters. It's sort of half formed still, but I don't know if I'll get any further with it or not so I thought I'd post it as is.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Little Biologist

                Once when I was six I extrapolated the amount of force in which a robot could potentially throw a punch on scale with the human body if one were to use rocket power propulsion to achieve maximum velocity within a short distance. When I showed the calculations to my father he scoffed and told me I should be putting my mathematics to better use. I felt ashamed at my whims as a child so I hid away the calculations based on the acceleration needed for a ship the size of the Starship Enterprise to break away from Earth’s gravity, my coding of an AI system capable of fully utilizing the human range of emotion and, of course, my designs for large robotics solving issues with weight distribution, the square cube law and energy usage.

                Over time I grew older though my imagination never dwindled. I learned to keep that secret world to myself and from time to time if I found someone who seemed to share that same spark of creative intelligence I would show them my mark ups on robots of giant proportions. Always I would receive the same response, pursed lips and a trouble frown, adults so very rarely seemed to understand the application of science and mathematics to what would appear to be childish musings.

                Thus, I live a lonely life until one day when I found myself in the country side of Germany with a broken down vehicle and no clear way to get to civilization. I was determined to not let this hinder me as a car engine was a simple thing for someone such as myself, though it would take some time. It was while I was attempting to locate the cause of my current lack of inertia that I heard a voice behind me, high pitched and a tad loud.

                “Hey, would you draw me a robot?” I stopped as I looked back to find myself looking at a short man in ridiculous dress, tattoos covering his arms who stared back at me expectantly.

                “I beg your pardon?”

                “Draw me a robot.” The short man rolled his eyes as he came to sit upon the bumper of my car. His hair was wild, though in a purposeful way, and he kicked at the dust with his boots. I looked around for some sign of where he had come from as there was no town or village for miles around, but as far as I could see he had appeared out of thin air. He didn’t seem to be concerned about his predictament as he waited, watching as though he thought I was perhaps a bit dull.

                “What are you doing out here?”

                “Dude…draw me a robot.” He said the words in an exaggerated manner, drawing them out as though speaking slowly would help me to understand.

                “That is a ridiculous request, I am not drawing you a robot. Now where did you come from, I could use some assistance.”

                “Come on! Draw me a robot, please!” I huffed in annoyance before straightening, cane in hand as I moved to the passenger side of my vehicle. Inside I had my briefcase and tucked into a side panel I had those old mock up from long ago. One included a quick blueprint sketch of a robot I had conceived as a child, and I pulled this out now and pushed it towards the man.

                “There, now…tell me where you came from.”

                “Dude, this one’s cool and all, but I was kind of hoping for rockets that shoot out of the chest. Oh! And blades on the arms. Draw me that one.”

                “I do not have time for this ridiculous charade.”

                “Just draw me a robot and I’ll tell you what’s wrong with your spinal modification that will hinder movement when you could have full range with one small alteration based off the spinal function of felines.” I stared, mildly horrified by the man as I realized that he was right. The rigidity of the human spine often hindered robotic movement once you hit a certain scale, but to articulate more based on the feline spine could potentially allow a fully range of movement whilst maintaining integrity.

                “How did you know that?”

                “I know a lot of things, dude. Now, draw me a robot.” He looked at me with bright teasing eyes and I returned to the car once more to find a clean sheet of paper. I made a rough sketch, not taking the time to include the fine details of the fully realized blueprint he had rejected. When I handed it to him he gave a gleeful smile, jumping off the bumper of the car to look at it.

                “Man, this is going to look so cool. You don’t think his energy consumption will be too high, do you? I kind of come from a place with limited resources.”

                “I’m sure his energy consumption will be just fine,” I snapped, and that is how I made the acquaintance of the little Biologist.

 

                Once I realized that I wasn’t going to get a satisfactory response from the man as to where he had originated I returned to work on the car. He hovered nearby admiring his new robot and speaking of it as though it would come to life once he returned home. Eventually he wandered back over to me, watching me with an intense focus and asking more of his inane questions.

                “You know your calculations on inter-dimensional travel aren’t bad. I could see some flaws when it comes to determining where you’d end up though. Is that how you got here? Error in calculations?” I lifted my eyes away from the radiator to find the Biologist shifting through my briefcase and letting papers fall where they may upon the road.

                “There are no errors within my calculations, thank you very much, now if you would please desist from making a mess of my work.” I limped over to try and gather he papers together again the best I could with my leg acting up with an ache that spread through my hip and down my thigh. I would need to rest soon, but the quicker I was able to get the engine running once more the better.

                “So this is where you wanted to be? I’ve just been traveling from planet to planet with the goal of being an inter-dimensional rock star. I suppose you could do worse than this place though.” I shoved the papers back into the case as he watched me with a smirk, and I suddenly realized what the man was speaking about.

                “You cannot possibly be claiming to be here from another dimension, much less another planet you preposterous little man.” He laughed, the sound endearing even as it grated on me to be mocked by this possibly deranged man-child. I snatched the paper from his hand, shoving it back into the case which I slammed closed.

                “Do you want to hear about it? It’s pretty small though I guess with me living on it it’d be a waste to make it big,” he said with self-depreciating humor. By this time my leg wasn’t going to hold much longer so I sat in the passenger seat and gave him a stern look where he saw in the dirt of the road. “Oh, I have some volcanoes and a really cool ocean full of some pretty awesome bioluminescent species, don’t get me wrong.” He frowned suddenly as he pulled his drawing of the robot out of his pocket, smoothing it carefully. “Is it true that robots fight monsters?”

                “Well, I suppose if that’s what you program them for then yes,” I said with a sigh as I realized there was no reasoning with a mad man. Besides, it was intriguing, this idea of another planet that held life and this odd little man who seemed both brilliant and insane. He made a soft sound as though this concerned him.

                “This robot is programmed to fight monsters but it’s also programmed to eliminate invasive species that threaten the indigenous environment, which is what I need it for. It is tedious work attempting to protect the native environment and species that thrive in it when you are all alone.” There was a sadness just then that I had not seen in the man’s mannerisms before now. He was quick to banish it with a smile though it lingered in his eyes.

                “Are you all alone then? On this planet in another dimension.”

                “More or less.”

                The next few hours moved the day into the evening and I realized for the first time that I would have to stay the night out on that desolate road. I no longer cared though as I heard tales of the Biologist’s life back on his planet that was too small to be considered a planet by our standards, much like Pluto and it’s revoked membership within our universe’s planetary club. The Biologist had lived there for a long time, cataloguing his aquatic species and caring for the local fauna. From time to time on some whim a small meteoroid would hit his planet and introduce a new invasive species that tried to take root, and he would pass a few years learning how to once more stamp it out though he confided in me that he always saved a sample for study.

                It was during one of these discussions that led back to his concern for the robot and its monster fighting tendencies. He told me then of how, back on his home planet, an inter-dimensional rift had opened up and out of it had come the little Kaiju. It had torn its way through his aquatic species until their populations had been devastated and he had just barely managed to close the breach before more had come through. It had left him with that one little Kaiju roaming his planet though, blue bioluminescent tongue reaching and probing into the dark as it searched for something he didn’t understand.

                “That sounds terrible.”

                “It was beautiful. Once I had it content within one of my oceans I managed to create a devise that allowed me to speak to it. It was lonely; it was part of a hive mind back at home but with the breach closed it found itself alone. It was very conceited though.”

                “A kaiju conceited?” I scoffed and the hurt look that crossed his face reminded me of that time when I was a child and a grown-up had scoffed at me. “Please, do go on.”

                “No, not if you’re going to treat me like I’m being ridiculous Hermann.” He had taken to calling me by my first name which he had read off a dissertation inside the briefcase. “Kaiju can be very conceited. They’re very proud of their claws and teeth, their size and their ability to acidify their environment.”

                “Yes, of course, I was being rude. Do continue.” He huffed, crossing his arms though he glanced at me from time to time. Eventually I climbed into the car to close out the cold, attempting to coax him inside as well for fear he’d catch his death out in the chilled night air. I had dozed by the time I heard him climb into the back seat, settling down and humming to himself.

                “I loved hearing about the Kaiju, learning about it, but after some time I got so curious. I wanted to see what else was out there, so I decided to set out to explore the universe. When I told Otachi that I was leaving to go on an adventure he got very jealous. He told me he would destroy what was left of the native species, that there was nothing as interesting as he was and that I was linked to him and could not go. I insisted though, I was being stubborn because I didn’t realize then that what he was afraid to be completely alone again.”

                “So you left it there to destroy everything while you were gone?” I asked in shock and in the dim light I saw him grin.

                “Don’t worry. I built a wall first.”

 

                And so, in the late hours of the night I heard about those the Biologist had met on his travels. The first planet he managed to travel to using the same technology to create a breach as the Kaiju had to enter his world was inhabited by one man and one little girl. The man had been large and intimidating while the girl had been sad and determined. They trained day and night, and each morning when they stopped to rest and eat breakfast the little girl would ask the man if she was ready.

                “Not yet, Mako, you need patience. You cannot carry vengeance into the drift,” the man would say and again they would set about training. The Biologist observed this for a few days and noted that the man was sick though he did not tell the little girl this. At last the Biologist wasn’t able to contain his questions anymore and he approached them during their time of rest.

                “Why do you train?” He asked the little girl first, finding that the man was more intimidating.

                “Because we must be ready to protect ourselves from the Kaiju.” He had brightened at this mention, smiling widely.

                “I have a Kaiju back home!” The girl had looked at him in shock when he said this, making the Biologist doubt himself which wasn’t something he enjoyed.

                “And you have no destroyed it?”

                “No! Why would I destroy it when I can study it?” She had given him a serious look before hearing the man call her to train once again. She stood, giving him a bow.

                “It would be wise for you to prepare so that you can defeat the Kaiju. It will not stop its destruction otherwise.”

                “Oh, he’ll behave,” the Biologist had said, getting a strange look in return. “Why do you train all day when he will never tell you that you’re ready? Why do you not just go fight?”

                “I respect him and I know that one day when I am prepared he will tell me so. Only then will I be ready to get revenge.” The girl had run off and the Biologist had given a sad shake of his head. He did not understand the desire for revenge. Even with the loss of his native species he had simply found something new to study and observe. He moved on from that planet as they man and the little girl began to train once more.

 

                On the next planet the Biologist came across a man who spent his days alone. He observed him for a long time and realized that the man’s actions always seemed incomplete as though some half of him way missing. He worked all day to build a wall and then all night he’d dismantle it. The man would then stop and look around like he expected to see another there with him, calling out a name but never getting a response. After three days of this the Biologist approached the man who seemed startled to find that he wasn’t alone.

                “Who are you looking for?”

                “My brother. He was here but he’s not anymore,” the man had said sadly.

                “Where has he gone?”

                “He is dead and he has left me with his ghost. The Kaiju took him from me while we were still connected.” The Biologist had frowned, looking around the planet for signs of the Kaiju. “I build the wall because it’s what I know, I take it apart in hopes he’ll come home.”

                “Are you Kaiju still here?”

                “No, but they will be back.”

                “But you don’t fight them?”

                “I can’t on my own,” the man had built his wall again and the two of them sat atop it looking out at the stars. “I can’t have another person in my head.”

                “I understand.” The Biologist did not understand but the man seemed lost and there was a hole in his heart. From the top of the wall they could see that other planet where the man and the little girl trained. “Do you watch them train?” The man gave a short nod and for once there was a smile.

                “Someday soon she’ll be ready but not today.” And thus the man began to dismantle the wall once more and the Biologist left him to wait for the brother who wouldn’t return.

 

                The third planet had a man who watched. He monitored the other planets for signs of a breach opening and altered everyone and no one of the Kaiju’s returned. Here the Biologist had lingered, watching in fascination as the different types of Kaiju came out on the screens across the universe as the man managed things from behind the scenes.

                “There’s so many different kinds,” he had mused, surprised now by how conceited his own Kaiju had been when there were so many wonderful kinds out there.

                “Don’t I know it brother, I track them day and night. The biggest I’ve ever seen is a Cat 5.” The Biologist had laughed, his Kaiju was only a Cat 4 and he could imagine it’s indignation at being considered less. The alarms had gone off on some planet in the distance and the Biologist realized it was the planet of the man and little girl. He wondered if she finally got to fight, if the man who had lost his brother would try to help them, and the Biologist found himself wishing for the first time that the Kaiju were not real.

               

                The last planet before the Biologist came to Earth was inhabited by a father and son. With them they had a very small and loving bulldog named, Max. The father and son fought constantly but they both showered the dog with affection, speaking to it with respect as they should have spoken to each other. As soon as the Biologist had arrived the dog had trotted over to him, drooling on his Doc Martens and waiting patiently for scratches behind his ears. The Biologist had happily pet the animal as the father and son fought until the two finally walked to separate sides of the planet. The son called the dog to him first and the Biologist followed.

                “And who the hell are you?”

                “I’m the Biologist, I come from a distant planet. Who are you?”

                “I’m Chuck and this here is Max.” They sat in silence for a while then as Chuck gave Max his love and attention before sending the dog over to where his father sat. It was like some exchange where the dog was the messenger of the affection the father and son felt for each other.

                “Why do you fight?”

                “Because of what we’ve lost.”

                “It seems a lot of people have lost a lot of things,” the Biologist said with a sad sigh.

                “The Kaiju has taken something from everyone. What have they taken from you?” The Biologist thought for a long time on this, and by the time he’d come to an answer the father and son had begun to argue once more. They yelled at each other for many things, some that made sense and others that didn’t. When they separated once more the father stayed on the side the Biologist sat while his son retreated to the opposite side of the planet.

                “Why do you fight?”

                “Because we love each other and because of that we expect too much from each other.”

                “Perhaps you should tell him that you’re proud.” The man had stared at the Biologist for a long moment until Max had come trotting over to receive the love and affection that was meant for the son. “How do you protect your home from the Kaiju?”

                “You find a robot to fight them with.”

                “Then perhaps that is what I shall do.”

 

                And so the Biologist had come to Earth looking for someone to draw him a robot in case his wall had failed him while he was away. Here he had found Hermann and as the sun began to rise he’d finished his story where it had started.

                “So you intend to use your Jaeger to destroy the Kaiju?”

                “No, I intend to use the Jaeger to keep the Kaiju at bay. My Kaiju is different than all the other Kaiju and yet the same. Those other planets fight them but still they have lost, loved and hurt. I want to keep my Kaiju, but I want to learn from it so that I can help the other planets. I can let the man simply spend time with the little girl, the man who lost his brother can find someone to mend that hole, the man who watches can go home and the father and son can heal their bond.”

                “And you? Will you not be alone again?”

                “I will have my Kaiju still though he will be locked away. I will also have my Jaeger and my Jaeger came from you, so in a way I will have a link to you as well.” I drifted off to sleep as he fell silent and come morning when I was alone once more I felt an ache of sadness at the loss of the Biologist even as I was grateful for the peace and quiet. When I went to start work on the engine once more I found a simple note attached to the key. The car started on the first try and I found myself both infuriated and pleased.


End file.
